Authorize the County Administrative Officer (CAO) or the CAO's designee to execute work authorization amendments with Alpha CM, Inc. for construction management of the Wild Wings County Service Area's Wood Duck Pump Station Project (Phase I) in the amount of $16,500, increasing the total contract cost to $136,333; further authorize the CAO or the CAO's designee to execute work authorization amendments with Alpha CM, Inc. for construction management of the Wild Wings CSA's Pintail Arsenic Construction Project in the amount of $7,956, increasing the total contract cost to $16,955. (No general fund impact) (Webb/Nguyen)

The Wild Wings County Service Area (CSA), a rural community with 338 residences, operates two groundwater well stations, the Canvasback and Pintail wells. The Canvasback well is currently on "Emergency Standby" status due to exceeding the maximum contaminant level for arsenic, meaning it cannot be used for potable water except in limited emergencies. The Wild Wings CSA therefore only has one potable water well, the Pintail well. With only the Pintail well in operation, the associated aquifer is being drawn down and not given a chance to recover. In the past few years, the local groundwater levels in the Wild Wings CSA declined at an accelerated rate due to prolonged drought conditions, leading to concerns about the long-term viability of only one drinking water well.

 

In August 2021, County staff applied for grant funding for the construction of a new potable water supply well (the Wood Duck well), and an arsenic treatment system program at the community's existing Pintail well. In November 2021, the Department of Water Resources (DWR) awarded Small Community Drought Relief program grant funding to support the projects, in the amount of approximately $3.8 million. Design work for the projects began, and the Board of Supervisors adopted an Initial Study/Mitigated Negative Declaration and approved the projects on January 24, 2023. On July 11, 2023, the Board adopted the plans and specifications for the Wood Duck well construction and authorized the Community Services department to post bids for the project.

 

Bids for both the Wood Duck well project and the Pintail arsenic treatment system project opened on September 14, 2023; unfortunately, bids came in significantly higher than expected, and significantly higher than DWR grant funding allowed. As a result, the arsenic project and the Wood Duck well project had to be bifurcated. On or about December 5, 2023, the Board of Supervisors approved an agreement with T&S Construction Company in the amount of $1,994,500 to construct the Pintail arsenic system for the Wild Wings CSA. Construction on the arsenic project began in late 2023. Work on the Wood Duck well was stalled while the CSA Manager considered how to move forward in light of high cost pressures. In Summer 2024, the CSA Manager began exploring the option of phasing the Wood Duck well project with Luhdorff and Scalmanini Consulting Engineers (LSCE), the engineering firm behind the design of the well. The parties worked on a two-phase solution, where Phase 1 would consist of installation of the well pump station and Phase 2 would include a raw water and/or drinking water transmission line. The Wood Duck well is anticipated to be fully operational as an irrigation source after the completion of Phase 1, but would not be fully integrated into the drinking water supply until Phase 2 is completed.

The Board of Supervisors approved the plans and specifications for Phase 1 of the Wood Duck well on November 5, 2024. The CSA Manager and Procurement Department solicited bids for construction of Phase 1 in winter 2024. The bidding period closed on December 20, 2024, and only one bid was received, from TSI Engineering, with the base bid price of $1,910,786. County staff met with DWR staff in January to discuss the results of the Well Project bid. The parties agreed to re-bid the project (for the third time) and to discuss the possibility of additional funding. On March 19, 2025, the County received four bids for Phase 1 of the Wood Duck well. The lowest responsive and responsible bidder, TNT Industrial, Inc.'s bid was $1,611,249.

 

Since the bid was still high when compared to existing funding, the CSA Manager negotiated a grant funding increase with DWR for the completion of Phase 1. In May 2025, the County and DWR executed an amended agreement with $640,070 of additional funding. The funding increase included an allocation for construction management of the Project. The CSA Manager collaborated with the Procurement Division to create a work authorization for construction management using one of the County's on-call construction management contractors, Alpha CM. On August 26, 2025, the Board of Supervisors approved the work authorization for Alpha CM to provide construction management of Phase 1 of the Wood Duck well project, not to exceed $119,833. 

Alpha CM subcontracts with Terracon to provide materials testing for the Wood Duck well construction project. Construction projects are required to undergo material testing and inspections as part of the permitting process, ensuring adherence to safety and performance standards. Due to the increased labor costs for the testing and inspection of materials including soils, concrete, asphalt and aggregates to determine conformance to the project's specifications for quality and durability, Alpha CM requested to increase their contract budget. County staff recommend approving the work authorization amendment to increase Alpha CM's current contract budget by $16,500 to include third-party Material Testing and Special Inspection services for Phase 1 of the Project.

The County's contract with T&S Construction for the Pintail Arsenic construction project expired on December 31, 2025. As the Arsenic project was overdue, the CSA manager collaborated with the Procurement Division to create a work authorization with Alpha CM to clean up outstanding change orders and wrap up the project. On February 23, 2026, the County signed a work authorization with Alpha CM to provide construction management of the Pintal Arsenic construction project. Due to remaining outstanding work for the project, it was determined that the scope of services required by Alpha CM exceeded the original estimate of $8,999.77. County staff recommend approving the work authorization amendment to increase Alpha CM's current contract budget by $7,956 to complete the Arsenic Construction project. 

Procurement Division, General Services Department

Alpha CM, Inc.

A competitive process was conducted for on-call construction management companies. Please refer to Agenda Item No. 18 of the January 9, 2024 meeting of the Board of Supervisors.